China ups production of banned ozone-damaging liquid, report says

Scientists say that between 40 and 60% of a rise in production of CFC-11 is happening in just two Chinese provinces.

CFC-11 has been used in foam insulation
Image: CFC-11 has been used in foam insulation
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China is to blame for much of an increase in illegal ozone-depleting substances (ODS), a study has warned.

About 40-60% of a global rise in levels of the refrigerant trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) since 2013 can be traced to China's northern industrial provinces of Shandong and Hebei, a report in the journal Nature says.

After studying atmospheric data from South Korea and Japan, researchers from the University of Bristol, and from Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, estimated that emissions from eastern mainland China between 2014 and 2017 were about seven million kilograms per year higher than between 2008 and 2012.

CFC-11, which was previously used in fridges and air conditioners, is one of a number of chemicals banned under the Montreal Protocol, the intention of which was to phase out global CFC production by 2010.

Because CFCs damage the ozone, they have been replaced with other chemicals including hydrofluorocarbons.

The level of CFC-11 found in the atmosphere dropped substantially until 2012, but has since risen again.

May 2018: Massive mysterious rise in ozone-eating CFCs detected
May 2018: Massive mysterious rise in ozone-eating CFCs detected

The pollutants could be originating from East Asia despite a universally ratified UN treaty against their production

China ratified the Montreal Protocol in 1991 and said last year that it had cut 280,000 tonnes of ozone-depleting substances from its annual production capacity.

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It also said it was increasing its efforts to phase out other such chemicals.

But the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) claimed in a report last year that dozens of Chinese companies were still using CFC-11 in the production of polyurethane foam.

Ian Rae, from the School of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne, who advised on the Montreal Protocol, said CFC-11 is "very effective at what it does", and there are "rogue users of old supplies and rogue producers who flout international agreements".

China promised to punish any violations of the Montreal Protocol when it began an inspection of 3,000 foam manufacturers last year.

In March, it said it had closed down two manufacturers that were producing CFC-11.

China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment did not respond immediately to a request for comment.